But off the field, this was a truly vintage Miami sports year. From coke-snorting coaches to cops punching fans in the face to epically cheating marathon-running bloggers, these were the most-read sports stories we wrote in 2017:
1. Video: Miami Dolphins Coach Allegedly Snorts Cocaine in Team OfficeCocaine Coaching: @MiamiDolphins offensive line coach allegedly snorts coke before team meeting because Miami https://t.co/Zm0SNvDWKg pic.twitter.com/NvTfVQqOb4
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) October 9, 2017
Foerster, a former college player at Colorado State, is an NFL veteran who has 34 years of coaching experience with more than a half-dozen teams. He's been in charge of the Fins' O-line since 2016.2. New York Blogger Jane Seo Busted for Cheating in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon
In the video, he appears to vacuum up three hefty lines of cocaine. Nige, who goes by Starr Sherrod on Facebook, says she used to date Foerster. In the video, the coach says he's snorting the substance right before a meeting.
"I think about you when I do it. I think about how much I miss you, how hot we got together. How much fun it was. So much fun. Last little bit before I go to my meeting," Foerster says. "I wish I was licking this off your pussy."
Her pace, it turns out, was too good to be true. Seo has now been disqualified for cutting the course — a crime she confessed to only after a computer sleuth crushed her elaborate coverup. A lengthy post published on marathoninvestigation.com documented her lies in exquisite detail. She later posted a four-paragraph apology to her 34,400 Instagram followers.3. Miami Marlins Sue Fan to Seize His Property in Broward County
“I made a HORRIBLE choice... what an idiot I was!” she wrote in a post that's since been taken down. “I am extremely ashamed… I am so sorry everyone.”
4. Jason Taylor's Ex-Wife Katina Sues for $3.4 Million in Alimony
So how could Loria further embarrass Major League Baseball before the All-Star Game tomorrow? Well, here's a hell of a good way: by taking a fan to court to try to seize his property.
That's exactly what the Miami Marlins owner is doing, according to court records obtained by New Times. Loria's team is suing a fan named Kenneth Sack in Broward County to take a $725,000 building he owns in Oakland Park — all as part of the same ugly dispute that has led the team to sue at least nine season ticketholders and luxury-suite owners since 2003.
It's almost unheard-of for professional sports teams to sue their own fans. Going even further to ask a judge to seize a fan's property is the sort of supremely petty move that only Loria's regime could cook up.
For years, Jason Taylor was the clean-cut face of the Miami Dolphins, a family-friendly celeb with the charisma to earn jobs as a TV commentator and a Dancing With the Stars appearance plus a Hollywood romance with his wife Katina, the sister of his star teammate Zach Thomas. Tomorrow, Taylor will be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame.
Behind the scenes in the leadup to this crowning moment of his football career, though, Taylor's marriage to Katina quietly fell apart. And now his ex-wife is suing him in Broward Family Court, alleging he still owes her millions from their divorce settlement.
5. Five Reasons Haters Can't Stand the Miami Hurricanes
In case you missed it, the U is back — and so are the haters.6. Nobody Attended Miami's Extremely Sad MLB Baseball All-Star Parade
As you might imagine, the University of Miami's resurgence all the way to number 3 in the new College Football Playoff rankings is quite bothersome to many people who would much rather have seen the Hurricanes football program continue on the stinky path it's been meandering on for the past decade-plus. College football was an easier place for the haters' favorite schools to compete without the pesky Canes hogging all the awesome stuff, like championship trophies and future NFL Hall of Fame players. The hope, by many, was that the Canes would never return to their former dominance.
Yesterday, Major League Baseball, the City of Miami, and our beloved Miami Marlins teamed up to provide locals and visitors alike with an opportunity to take part in South Florida's favorite pastime: standing outside in a thick wool throwback baseball jersey as Miami's noontime July sun cooks off the top three layers of skin.7. Miami-Dade Police Investigate Video of Cop Punching Woman in Face at Hurricanes Game
MLB closed off roads and rerouted some of the busiest and most congested areas to parade baseball's biggest stars through the center of downtown on floats. Predictably, almost nobody showed up to watch. There was a high of 92 yesterday, intermittent rain, and no shade. Those are not optimal parade conditions.
The swagger is back, baby! The University of Miami Hurricanes are winning nationally televised games, threatening a national title run, and pissing off racists by wearing huge gold jewelry. And this past Saturday, delirious Canes fans finally turned Hard Rock Stadium into something approximating the glory days at the Orange Bowl.8. Dalvin Cook Should Be Miami Dolphins' First-Round Pick in NFL Draft
Of course a Hurricane party sometimes gets a little out of hand, which seems to have been the case for 30-year-old fan Bridget Freitas. Police say that she was drunk and disorderly and that when they began to haul her out of the stands, she smacked one of the cops in the face.
9. Wealthy Miami Heir Bruce Matheson Sues to Kill David Beckham Soccer Stadium Deal
The Fins have the 22nd pick in the first round in Thursday's draft. Do they plug one of their many holes on defense? A linebacker? How about another cornerback? Maybe a defensive lineman?
Nope. This team should nab more offense. More specifically, they should take Florida State running back Dalvin Cook. Yes, a running back. Simmer down, Canes fans, and consider the facts.
If Bruce Matheson wants to tank a real-estate deal, the heir to one of the richest and oldest families in all of Miami knows how to do it. Through sheer force of will, he has successfully prevented the ultrarich owners of the Miami Open tennis tournament from plowing over portions of Crandon Park. He's mounting a battle to stop Florida International University from buying the public Tamiami Park.
And now he's funding a new lawsuit in an attempt to kill soccer star David Beckham's plan to build a huge stadium in one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods. Matheson alleges the county broke state law by handing Beckham land in Overtown in a no-bid deal — and that by doing so, the stadium will destroy the neighborhood's quality of life, a fear some Overtown residents have also expressed at public meetings.
10. Gordon Hayward Free Agency: Utah, Boston Journalists Get Racist in Trashing Miami's Chances
During every free-agency period, false rumors swirl and misinformation abounds — often spread by agents trying to improve their leverage when millions of dollars are at stake. That's normal.
What isn't normal are the ridiculous and even racist comments by writers in Boston and Salt Lake City about why Hayward supposedly would never want to live in Miami. Because what those basketball scribes have actually been arguing is that there's no way a white guy who has spent the past couple of years in Salt Lake City could possibly want any part of life in the capital of Latin America.